Oak Ridge Associated Universities 2006 Annual Report

ORISE Prepares U.S. Ports of
Entry for the Threat of Flu from
International Sources
In an effort to prepare American airport and
customs authorities for the threat of flu entering
the country, ORISE conducted tabletop exercises
on behalf of CDC at international airports of
entry into the U.S. Some of these exercises involved
areas with existing quarantine stations (Los
Angeles, Chicago, and Hawaii). Other exercises
were conducted in cities with newly established
quarantine stations (Washington, D.C.-Dulles,
Houston, and San Juan, Puerto Rico). The exercises
involved scenarios of arriving overseas airline
passengers with worsening symptoms of influenza.
Representatives from airport authorities, airlines,
quarantine stations, hospitals, and first responders
“walked through” their responses and identified
strengths and areas for improvement in working
with the issues and parties involved.
Additionally, ORISE conducted flu preparedness
exercises in two landlocked U.S. ports-of-entry
cities (El Paso and Laredo, Texas), where new
quarantine stations
had just opened. These
exercises were designed
to help examine the
coordination among
DHS, Customs and
Border Protection,
and DHHS quarantine stations. More than 600
emergency response personnel participated in the
eight exercises.
In the near future, ORISE will conduct nine
additional flu tabletop exercises at a variety of new
and existing quarantine stations. These tabletops
will address flu preparedness activities at all ports
of entry—airports, seaports, and landlocked ports.
ORISE also prepared the National Aviation
Resource Manual for Quarantinable Diseases
for the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT). The manual deals with the planning
and preparation for, response to, and recovery
from a quarantinable disease incident at a U.S.
international airport. While there are nine
quarantinable diseases, there are only three—
smallpox, SARS, and pandemic flu—that would
require an elevated response as outlined in the
manual. The manual has been reviewed by the
Executive Office of the President, the White House
Homeland Security Council, and most cabinetlevel
departments and has been approved by the
Secretaries of Transportation and DHHS. It is
available on the DOT Web site.
Image Information:
With the threat of pandemic flu ever present, federal
agencies such as the CDC have raised concerns that
the virus could enter the country from arriving overseas
airline passengers. On behalf of the CDC, ORISE
conducted exercises, such as the one represented above,
at international airports in the U.S. to help prepare for
dealing with the virus and other quarantinable diseases.
Photo by Gerald Nino.
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